Farmers around Inverell are beaming at the golden cropping prospectives this season after many years of failed plantings.
The Penberthy family of Corregidor at Inverell are among growers in the district that are optimistic for a strong harvest this year and currently have 200 hectares of wheat, 140 hectares of barley, 160 hectares of oats and 140 hectares of canola in the ground.
It is a big turn around from the last few years when limited rainfall hampered any crop prospects.
"Last year we didn't get a winter crop, we didn't even plant a winter crop, just a few grazing oats and the summer crops pretty much failed," Matt Penberthy said.
"There are a lot more positives. We will have pretty high potential with these crops. There is plenty of moisture underneath."
The only thing that may prove a problem is late frost.
"The canola is probably starting to flower about a month too early so we are a little bit worried about a late frost on canola can do a fair bit of damage," he said.
The Penberthys also run a cattle herd and rotate their poorer cultivation country in and out of grazing.
The cattle were run on the fallows throughout the drought with their herd close to normal numbers.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
